Police report of arrest of Massachusetts State Trooper Brian Simpkins…who is back on patrol after his second DUI arrest.
From A Special Report by the Boston Globe
By Todd Wallack
Globe Staff
Simpkins is one of at least 30 Massachusetts law enforcement officials who have been charged with drunken driving while off-duty since the start of 2012, a Globe review has found. The crashes collectively killed three people and injured more than a half-dozen others.
Though some officers resigned or were placed on unpaid leave after the charges, a majority kept their jobs, sometimes after a short suspension.
The drunken driving tally is almost certainly low because not every arrest is widely reported and officers sometimes let their peers off the hook, a practice known as “professional courtesy.” Massachusetts police departments have launched internal reviews at least four times in the last three years after learning that an officer or former officer was accused of drunken driving but was not arrested.
The Globe also found the vast majority of officers, like Simpkins, refused to take a breath test, making it harder to prosecute them criminally for drunken driving. And departments frequently went out of their way to accommodate them — keeping officers on the payroll even after they temporarily lost their licenses for refusing the test and could no longer do their regular duties.
In addition, many departments tried to keep details of the drunken driving incidents involving their officers hidden when contacted by the Globe. Several departments, including Boston’s, refused to reveal the names of officers arrested for drunken driving. Others withheld police reports, photos of officers who were arrested, or other documents that are normally public after arrests. ….MORE
The post Massachusetts: Bay state cops busted for DUI 30 times in past two years; killed three and injured six in their booze cruises while off-duty appeared first on DWI Hit Parade! Over 2,422,974 Visitors.